Structural aircraft components, such as landing gear, are subjected to significant stresses while in use. Therefore, structural aircraft components are typically constructed from high-strength structural materials, such as high-strength steels and titanium alloys. To inhibit environmental corrosion, high-strength steels are typically plated with a corrosion-resistant coating. Typical corrosion-resistant coatings include titanium-cadmium coatings and zinc-nickel coatings.
It has long been known that hydrogen diffuses through high-strength structural materials, thereby resulting in hydrogen embrittlement (i.e., the hydrogen-induced reduction in ductility that renders materials relatively more brittle than materials that have not been exposed to hydrogen). The process of plating high-strength structural materials with corrosion-resistant coatings has been known to significantly contribute to hydrogen embrittlement due to the evolution of hydrogen that occurs at the plating cathode.
Thus, prior to being deployed, high-strength structural materials are typically evaluated for hydrogen embrittlement. For example, ASTM F326 is a standard test method for the electronic measurement of hydrogen embrittlement potential resulting from cadmium electroplating processes. However, the ASTM F326 standard test method is not suitable for measuring hydrogen embrittlement potential resulting from zinc-nickel electroplating processes. As another example, ASTM F519 is a standard test method for the mechanical measurement of hydrogen embrittlement potential resulting from various electroplating processes. However, the ASTM F519 standard test method requires over 200 hours and, therefore, significantly increases overall production time.
Accordingly, those skilled in the art continue with research and development efforts in the field of hydrogen detection.